ON THE RISE
Screaming Eagles’ Laaouan focused on having solid NHL draft year
Screaming Eagles’ Laaouan focused on having solid NHL draft year.
Noah Laaouan doesn’t have to be told how important his play on the ice has to be this season with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
The 17-year-old defenceman is in his first year of NHL draft eligibility, something the Halifax product has dreamed about his entire hockey career.
“I had a big summer in the gym and I think it’s made a lot of difference and I feel like I came to camp a lot bigger and stronger this year,” said Laaouan.
“I’ve made improvements to my game and so far, I’ve been happy with my game, but there’s still a lot of season left, so I have to keep playing my game and hopefully good things happen.”
Recently, Laaouan was named to the NHL’s players to watch list for the 2019 entry draft, scheduled for June 2122, in Vancouver, B.C. He’s currently listed as a “C” prospect, indicating a possible pick between the fourth and sixth rounds.
Despite his name being on the list, Laaouan doesn’t think too much about the draft.
“You’re going to hear things about that, there’s people around you that are going to talk about it and obviously it’s nice to hear,” said Laaouan.
“At the end of the day, none of those lists matter at the end of the year, the only thing that matters is whether or not your name is called at the draft – if you don’t get called, there’s still a lot of opportunities.
“I have to keep playing my game, keep things simple, try to be as solid as possible on the ice and I think people will notice it.”
Laaouan began skating at the age of four and later picked up a hockey stick and began playing minor hockey with the Halifax Hawks Minor Hockey Association.
Following his minor hockey days, Laaouan suited up for
the Halifax ACCEL Hawks of the Nova Scotia Major Bantam Hockey League, recording nine goals and 27 assists for 36 points in 64 games.
Entering the midget division in 2016-17, Laaouan was left off the Halifax McDonald’s player protected list and was later approached by Steve Crowell, the head coach of the Steele Subaru Major Midget, who asked Laaouan to cross the bridge and play his major midget in Dartmouth.
“They were excited to have me and going there was really exciting for me because I had a lot of good opportunities there – I think it was a really good decision” said Laaouan, whose father Ali is a Maritime scout for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.
“We had a really good team that year, we were young, but we had a lot of skilled players
that really helped out – Crowell, Marty King and Mike Shea (the coaches) have a lot of hockey knowledge and gave me every opportunity to succeed.”
In June 2017, Laaouan was drafted No. 14 overall by the Screaming Eagles at the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft, a moment he will never forget.
“The draft is something that only really happens twice – the QMJHL draft and the NHL draft,” said Laaouan, noting he has heard several jokes from friends about being a Halifax boy playing in Cape Breton.
“I really had no idea where I was going to end up, but when I heard my name called by Cape Breton I was really happy, and it was close to home, so it was a great moment.”
Laaouan cracked the Screaming Eagles lineup as a 16-yearold
and during his rookie campaign also represented Canada at the World Under17 Hockey Challenge in British Columbia.
“Any time you get to put on your country’s colours and represent them with their logo, it’s something you have to take pride in – not a lot of people get to experience that,” said Laaouan, who shares a birthdate of March 7 with Detroit Red Wings defenceman Danny DeKeyser.
“It was a learning experience and something I tried to take as much as possible away from, but at the same time, it was just a real honour and a lifelong memory.
Through 74 career games in the QMJHL, Laaouan has three goals and 19 assists for 22 points.
“When you come to the league as a 16-year-old there’s going to be some adjustment playing against guys that are a lot older and bigger, but I think once I got my feet under me, I was pretty solid,” said Laaouan, who considers himself to be a two-way defenseman.
Cape Breton (13-11-1-1) currently sits fourth in the Maritimes Division and ninth overall in the league standings. Laaouan believes the team is better than what the numbers show.
“Sitting around .500 right now isn’t the ideal situation, but there’s been a lot of games where we played really well and there’s some games that maybe we let things slip away,” said Laaouan.
“There’s lots of room to improve, but so far it’s been a pretty solid year for us.”
Laaouan will be in the Screaming Eagles lineup tonight when the team hosts the Saint John Sea Dogs at 7 p.m. at Centre 200 in Sydney.